In the podcast, Dommermuth describes how he became one of Germany’s most successful self-made entrepreneurs and found success already in his 20s.
He emphasizes his passion for marketing and customer service/satisfaction, two areas in which he stays involved until today and for which 1&1 are known for.
Over the course of its history, 1&1 successfully reinvented itself many times in order to capture new trends. Not every investment has been a success though (Rocket Internet, Tele Columbus or Borussia Dortmund) and Ralph emphasizes that while decisions have been taken with a lot of consideration, optimizing investments or money is not his main focus.
Instead, he enjoys the entrepreneurial challenge of growing and overcoming obstacles. He is very involved with the construction of 1&1 new network and feels privileged that he likes so much what he does.
My Assessment
In my opinion, it is very impressive what Ralph Dommermuth was able to build. He is an important part of the 1&1 Investment Thesis.
I=2
According to Golem, Dommermuth is known to be stingy. Insiders say he personally checks for travel expenses for 1&1/United Internet board members. He also doesn’t earn a salary and instead relies on rental income.
Markus Huhn, 1&1 CFO stepped down on 31 December 2024.
He had been CFO in different divisions at 1&1 for more than 17 years.
He will be replaced by Sascha D’Avis who has held various management positions in the finance division at the 1&1 group since 2004.
Ralf Hartings, United Internet’s CFO also resigned after holding the position at the parent company for one year 10 months.
Hartings will be replaced by Carsten Theurer who was CFO for the Schwarz Group for over 3 years.
Assessment
It’s not a good sign that the CFO of 1&1 and its parent company resigned at the same time. This probably has to do with poor performance during the last quarter. However, it seems that the companies are managing the transition well as they were able to find replacements instantly.